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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24290692">Higgy's Realisation</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cait_The_Bookworm/pseuds/Cait_The_Bookworm'>Cait_The_Bookworm</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Magnum and Higgins: The Dynamic Duo [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aftermath of Torture, F/M, First Aid, Kidnapping, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-Relationship, Whump, pre-Miggy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 01:01:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,810</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24290692</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cait_The_Bookworm/pseuds/Cait_The_Bookworm</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Only Magnum could make a suspected cheating wife case into a serial theft and money laundering case, and only Magnum would manage to get them kidnapped while working that exact case. With his mind trapping him in a trap of its own making, Higgins is left trying to get them out and get Magnum out of his trap. Will she succeed?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Juliet Higgins/Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Magnum and Higgins: The Dynamic Duo [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1753576</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>72</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Higgy's Realisation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Juliet had grown used to Magnum’s behaviour by now. The recklessness, idiotic, playful nature that he had from day to day.  The excitement that he had whenever he solved a case, or the amusement he had whenever he had to ask for a favour. The infectious mood he had, the passionate love for his PI work, and all of those who he helped. </p><p>Even the way he constantly skint, how he would give the shirt off his back to help anyone who needed it. Be in anybody’s corner, be it local, illegal immigrant, or some kind of felon. Nobody could knock Magnum down, because he’d just bounce back up again. </p><p>He seemed like a normal man, going through the course of his life, just wanting to help people. If you were feeling down, Magnum would pick you back up, if you fell short of a mile, he’d carry you two more. If you were hurt, he’d do everything in his power to make you healthy. If you lacked confidence, he would make you feel on top of the world.</p><p>Magnum reminded her of Richard in so many ways but was different in so many others. The way he could light up a room, was sensitive to her moods even when she tried her best to stifle them. Even when she was cold, stone-faced, instead of trying to thaw her frozen heart, he’d just chip around it. Accepting that it was a part of her character, and not try to change it. But unlike Richard, Thomas was less uptight, more light-hearted, untainted by the harsh realities of the world.</p><p>Of course, all of that allowed the reminder that Thomas Magnum was a retired Navy SEAL Vet to be easily forgotten about. That he’d spent eighteen months as a POW in Korangal Valley. And that those eighteen months wasn’t a cushy, all-expense holiday- rather, it was months and months of torture, bestowed upon him by someone he was engaged to.</p><p> Not that Juliet could ever really forget something like that, but it certainly wasn’t what came up when she thought about Magnum. It was very, very, low on the list of associations. Of course, when it did come up, it was nonetheless a shock…<br/>
</p>
<hr/><p>The case they were solving wasn’t difficult by their standards. A suspected cheating wife. They had solved cases just like this one with no bother. Of course, no case with Magnum ever turned out easy- hence why they were following a trail of money laundering and serial theft. That was why they were currently observing the supposed ‘safe-house’ from a distance away, sitting in the bright red Ferrari.</p><p>Magnum’s eyes were focused on the house through a pair of binoculars that he’d pulled out from the glovebox of the car. Juliet was typing up a dossier on what they’d found out so far, backing it up onto the cloud: Katsumoto would find it helpful when it came to charging them. Magnum’s form was relaxed yet attentive as he focused on the house, with their surroundings empty and it looking non-suspicious. </p><p>The money trail had led here, and Magnum was determined that something was wrong. As she finished typing up the dossier, she looked at Magnum, who had narrowed his eyes, instincts on edge. His instincts were usually right and weren’t to be easily dismissed.</p><p>“Must you glare at the house like it has insulted your person?”</p><p>Magnum didn’t so much as twitch in response, keeping his hands gripped tightly around the binoculars, so hard that his knuckles were turning white. He was straining forwards as Juliet closed the laptop, hiding it under the seat, and shifted ever so slightly so that she was also facing the house.</p><p>
“Something’s wrong Higgy.”</p><p>Now that he mentioned it, there was something stirring within her own instincts. On edge for no discernable reason, there was something off about the house. The house in question looked like a normal suburban house in Hawaii. A white door, surrounded by sandy coloured walls. The roof was white with slanted panels, reflecting the harsh sun back out. </p><p>There were five windows on the front, three main ones covering the left corner in a right angle kind of shape, and two slightly smaller ones, one above the jutted-out main entrance, and one next to the door. Before she could ask Magnum what he thought was wrong, he stuffed the binoculars away and retrieved his pistol from under the chair. His whole demeanour had changed in a matter of seconds, going from casual Thomas Magnum to Thomas Magnum the Navy SEAL.</p><p>“A safe-house like this: there’d be at least a few people living here, to make it seem as normal as possible. But there’s been no ingoing mail for months: no sign of people coming in and out. The electricity bills, gas bills, are all below average.”</p><p>“You don’t think this is a safe-house.”</p><p>He shook his head, checking his pistol, and the mags, making sure it was filled with the brim. He passed it to her, handle first with the safety on, before pulling out another one, going through the same methodical instructions.</p><p>“No. I think it’s a diversion.”</p><p>He stepped out of the car with Juliet close behind his heels. The pistol was raised up, and Higgins quickly texted Katsumoto the address, so he could have a record of it for future investigations. There was nothing that was telling them that this case would go any different. For all they knew, it would be in, have a snoop, or subdue a few suspects, and out again. </p><p>Pocketing her phone, she raised her own pistol, having Magnum’s back. They got to the door, the porch creaking despite walking softly. Taking positions on either side of the door, Magnum nodded, before spinning and kicking it in, with slightly more violence then she was used to. They moved in quickly, sweeping every room methodically. The living room, the first room on the right to the entrance was empty, and not just empty of humans. </p><p>There were no sofas, no TVs, nothing that you would expect in a normal living room. The house was deserted. Moving through to the next room, the adjoining kitchen was desolate, wooden counters that were splintered and chipped, a sink that was rusted and orange, a panel floor which was upturned in certain places, the wood cracking and shattering. </p><p>Some of the cupboard doors were open, but there was nothing in them- just empty shelves covered in mould and God knows what else. She left the two rooms, returning to the hallway before hearing gunshots, which got her sprinting to the right, where Magnum was kneeling, his face twisted a little. Red was spurting out of his shoulder- no, not red, <i>blood</i>- and it took all her training not to cry out. </p><p>Magnum gritted his teeth, but fired his pistol, nailing one man in the side with marksman-like accuracy, and another with a shot to the leg. Magnum became like a freak force of nature, spinning around and pistol-whipping another conscious man- seriously, where had these twenty-odd men came from?- and Juliet jumped into action. </p><p>Ducking down, a man rolled over her back and proceeded to get shot in the thigh, dropping him immediately. Juliet lunged forwards and grabbed a man at the back of his neck, yanking him towards her and punching him in the face, relishing in the crunch of bone that it had achieved. </p><p>As she swept his leg, sending him tumbling to the ground, Magnum suddenly dropped, but not from blood-loss or another bullet as she feared- no, out the side of his neck there was a needle, and whatever was in it had sent the PI to the ground, slumped with glazed eyes, his wound still bleeding sluggishly. Growling in annoyance- not at Magnum mind- she spin-kicked of the remaining men and sent him stumbling back as the other two charged forwards. </p><p>Juliet ducked under a punch, and quickly grabbed the man’s wrist, which she bent upwards, disarming him and kicking the gun- silver and speckled with blood, <i>Magnum’s blood</i>- far away. As the man screamed about his dislocated arm, she was grabbed from behind, arms interlocked and trapped. As she threw herself forwards to overbalance her would-be captor, there was the sting of a needle in the back of her neck, and she went limp, like a puppet who had its strings cut. </p><p>She still struggled though, limply trying to escape and focusing on the bleeding Magnum, but was shoved onto the wooden ground, everything going black in a swirl of colours.<br/>
</p>
<hr/><p>When Juliet woke up, it wasn’t to a pretty sight. She was groggy, her head thumping a little as her body burned through whatever she’d been injected with, and she analysed her surroundings. First thing was first- Magnum. Looking around, she could see the form of Magnum, limp and unconscious. His shoulder had stopped bleeding, the blood coagulated and a dark red, his shirt clinging to his form.</p><p>His hands were bound together with plastic ties, the hard surface cutting into his skin from what she could see, and his legs were much the same. Their pistols had been taken away- proving that the would-be kidnappers were at least smarter then she would like- and both her hands and her feet were bound together as well. </p><p>They were in a small cage, the only room being about 1 metre which separated her and Magnum, and the bars being at least twenty centimetres thick. Their abductors were nowhere to be seen in the dark room, which looked to be the cliché warehouse, and so far, they were alone. Now that Juliet looked, she realised that it wasn’t technically a cage. They were surrounded by concrete walls all around them, apart from the front, where there were the thick bars and a hinged door.</p><p>Despite everything, Magnum looked fairly well. Not as healthy as she would like, but despite the gunshot, he didn’t look like he was in immediate danger of dying. Of course, she wouldn’t know that for sure until she could examine his wounds. The fact that he wasn’t conscious wasn’t exactly comforting, but for all she knew, whatever drugs injected into him could have been stronger then what she had.</p><p>“Magnum.”</p><p>She hissed under her breath, trying to stir him. She tried to pry her wrists apart, to break the bindings, but all she did was chafe her wrists and cause them to start stinging. Not that the pain phased her, but it was unfortunate that she couldn’t just pry it apart. Magnum was still slumped, bruises littering his face and his skin pale, ashy compared to his usual tan. Rocking forwards on the spot, she used her momentum to shuffle over to Magnum, which was thankfully a short distance.</p><p>
  <i>“Thomas!”</i>
</p><p>He snapped awake immediately, his eyes slightly dilated and unfocused. He shut them harshly before pulling them open again, his reactions slower than usual. He tensed, his muscles almost ready to spring, coiled and vicious. He didn’t seem aware of her- at least not fully- as he tried furiously to pull the bonds apart, but to no success. She could see the strain he was putting himself under trying to break the bindings, and he was going to aggravate his wounds if he wasn’t careful.</p><p>“Magnum- let me see if I can get them off.”</p><p>By speaking to him, she hoped it would ground him. That it would bring him to the here and now, not the there and then. After all, English accents like hers weren’t exactly common in Hawaii, and hers stuck out like a sore thumb. </p><p>There was no shame in having a PTSD attack- being in solitary wouldn’t be very glamorous, that she knew- and she hardly blamed him. But having one now would be most inopportune as he could hurt himself further. He looked up at her, his eyes struggling to focus on her. His breaths were stuttery, uneven, and every so often his hands would twitch up to his wound, which he’d try to poke but only succeed in tapping it, resulting in a grimace of pain. </p><p>Juliet shuffled forwards slowly, trying to telegraph her movements so she didn’t spook him. There was a loud clang, and as Magnum jumped- something she’d never seen him do before, looking terrified- she shuffled herself back quickly against the wall, almost overbalancing. Their captors, two tall men came in, brandishing what looked to be rifles, and pulling the stereotypical <i>‘I’m tall, bad and scary, and you’re going to do what I say’. </i></p><p>Juliet would rather not, and would never, thank you very much, and from what little she knew of Magnum and his captivity in the Korengal, he wouldn’t either. They walked right up to the bars, spitting to the side and rattling the bars with the muzzle of their guns, either as a scare tactic or as a way to aggravate them to attack.</p><p>“You will tell us what you know.”</p><p>The voice was commanding, rude, and altogether ignorable. It wasn’t a Hawaiian accent, it sounded like the Southern US. Not surprising, considering the cheating wife in question was from Louisiana. Either way, he wasn’t getting the information on their client, and he most certainly was not getting information on their client. </p><p>Looking subtly at Magnum, who now seemed perfectly normal despite the fact that he so evidently wasn’t. There was pain swimming in his eyes and blatant discomfort, but that was the only thing that gave him away. He put on that happy-go-lucky grin that he was known for, and <i>grinned</i> at their captors, raising his hands and sitting up, as if to attention.</p><p>“I would but I can’t- you don’t just go handing out personal information to random people you meet, do you?”</p><p>The men growled in frustration at Magnum who was largely lackadaisical, before pushing their gun through the bars and directly at Magnum’s neck. She forced herself to stay put, unwilling to take risks with Magnum’s life. They shoved him back, before ramming the muzzle of his gun directly into Magnum’s shoulder wound. The man didn’t so much as flinch as he grinned, baring his teeth with no sign of the pain.</p><p>“If you want me to tell you, you’d better get creative. You’ve got nothing compared to what I’ve seen.”</p><p>“We’ll see about that.”</p><p>They pushed her to the back of the cage before swinging the cage open. Magnum gave her a look as if to say ‘stay’ as they grabbed him by the back of his shoulders, and pushed him out,  keeping their gun pinned at her. They shut the cage door behind them and locked it, leaving Juliet alone in a cage, with her hands and feet still bound together. </p><p>Well. She thought, looking around at the unguarded room. <i>If he’s going to make me time, I’m going to use it wisely. God knows how long he can hold on.</i> And when she said hold on, she didn’t mean withstand the torture they were likely to use- no, she meant <i>‘how long could he hold back the PTSD attack waiting to happen?</i></p><p>The first thing on the agenda was to break her bindings.  She raised her hands up to her mouth and bit into the end of it. They hadn’t cut the tail of the bindings off, nor had they attempted to permanently fix it tight. While it would withstand pulling, if she could just pull the end off, her hands would be easy to unbind. The plastic dug into her mouth, making a small cut in the roof of her mouth that bled a little. </p><p>Biting down harder, she pulled it with more vigorous force, the plastic becoming taut. With a few more tugs, the plastic separated, releasing her wrists. She quickly moved towards her feet, twisting in order to get to a better angle. With her hands-free, it was much easier to undo her feet, and with one small twist and hard pull, her feet were also free. Rubbing her wrists, she kept the plastic looped so open that it just dangled helplessly. </p><p>The idea was that when they came back with Magnum, she could lunge forwards, grab the gun, disarm them, and get to either a phone or get the two of them out of here by any means necessary. Now it was just depending on how long it would take for them to bring Magnum back- and how he would be when he did. </p><p>And without the adrenaline of the escape attempt fuelling her any more, she was left worrying about Magnum. And the fact that he still wasn’t back worried her more- what were they doing to her partner?<br/>
</p>
<hr/><p>It was about three hours when they returned Magnum, who was slumped over, his Hawaiian shirt covered in more blood then he had disappeared, with it sticking to him like a second skin. The only reason she knew it was three hours was because she’d been counting in an attempt to keep herself alert and focused.</p><p>In the shadowed light, it was tough to make out any more details, other than that he wasn’t coherent, and his ankle seemed to be rolling in a blatantly wrong direction. <i>A potential dislocation, maybe?</i> There was another cut down his cheek, looking like a knife had been run along it- which it very likely had. God only knew what kind of injuries were underneath his shirt.</p><p>“Move to the back of the cage.”</p><p>The man who wasn’t holding Magnum commanded, and she obeyed, making sure to hide the broken plastic ties. With her back to the wall, her muscles coiled and tensed, ready to lurch. The plastic ties were burning against her wrists, and as they shoved Magnum in, the gun nosing inside, Juliet moved with a deadly speed she hadn’t channelled since her vendetta after Richard died. </p><p>She sprung up, whipping her hands around, and grabbed the end of the gun, making sure to raise it up and away from the two of them. She rammed it hard back into his chest, causing the man to wheeze and his hands to spasm as he did so, releasing the gun. Grabbing it, she pulled it and expertly span it around, making sure the safety was off. </p><p>As the man who was previously holding Magnum moved towards her, she fired the rifle, shouldering the recoil as the man fell, with a new bullet wound to the stomach. She then aimed the rifle towards target number two, shooting him as he got uncomfortably close to her. He got one to the kneecap, making her stifle a flinch- a nasty injury with an even nastier recovery time. And she wasn’t flinching because she had regrets- she herself had that injury, and it had been a bitch.</p><p>Standing up, the man groaning in pain, she slammed the back of the rifle into his temple, knocking him out. After checking on the other man, who was unconscious, Juliet turned, to face Magnum who was limp.</p><p>“Magnum?”</p><p>She called out, moving slowly towards him. He pushed his back against the wall and was murmuring things under his breath, in either Dari or Pashto. Neither of which was in her language repertoire. He pushed himself further back as she tried to approach, pushing his wounds against the wall and no doubt aggravating them even more. She could see that he was soaked through, clothes ruined with a mixture of blood and water, a wide looking gash on his arm, and at the very least a dislocated, possibly broken ankle.</p><p>“Thomas, it’s Higgins.”</p><p>She crouched down, appearing as non-violent as possible. After unloading the gun, she tossed it away to the side- out of reach of the two unconscious men, and out of her reach as well. Had she still been in MI6, she would have been reprimanded for knocking away her only weapon, but she was more concerned with Magnum to care about her old training. He seemed to relax a little at that, but he was still wound up tighter than a spring, and just about ready to bolt.</p><p>“I’m going to search our captors for a phone, to see if I can contact TC and Rick. Then they’ll come to get us, along with Katsumoto.”</p><p>As much as it hurt to leave him the way he was, she had to. She edged away from him slowly, praying her captors were stupid enough to have a phone on them, and sure enough, one of them did. It was a cheap little thing, but it would suit her current purposes. She unlocked it- no pin-code, tsk-  and entered TC’s number. It took him all of two seconds to answer, and Juliet was grateful that he always had his phone on him, ready and charged, unlike Magnum.</p><p>
  <i>“Hello?”</i><br/>
</p><p>He sounded worried, and Juliet couldn’t blame him. The three of them- Thomas, Rick, and TC, were as close as they could be, a quartet missing a member, and they would stick their lives out on the line for one another. It was a loyalty that she was awed and honoured to experience, and one she analysed a little too much. The fact that they had been missing for several hours by now had no doubt worried them even more, considering that at least one of them checked in throughout the day. </p><p>“TC, it’s Higgins. I need you to track this cell and bring both Katsumoto and the ES.”</p><p>In the background of the call, she could hear Rick calling Katsumoto, and the two of them leaving wherever they were- signified by the sudden whipping of the wind around them. There was a small hesitation as TC took in her words and the fact that she asked for the emergency services. Sure enough, his follow up question didn’t surprise her.</p><p>
  <i>“Who’s injured?”</i>
</p><p>Higgins cleared her throat, forcing herself to keep calm. The sooner she got this out, the sooner she could go back to Magnum, who was undoubtedly suffering right now. <i>He’ll be fine. He’s Magnum. If he can survive falling out of a truck, he can survive this. If he can survive being tortured in a camp, then why would this be any different? </i>To see Magnum the way he was… unresponsive, terrified, quiet, well, it scared Higgins more than she would admit. </p><p>“Our kidnappers are down for the count, one with a shot to the knee, one with a head wound, and the other with a stomach wound. I suspect there are more on the premises.  I have minor bruising, and a mild concussion, but I am fine. Magnum has a shot to the shoulder, a through-and-through, a dislocated ankle, several bruises and a concussion.”</p><p>She reported, as she could hear a door being shut, the sounds of sirens, and some shouting over the phone. There was a brief crackle as the phone was passed over, and soon Rick’s voice came over the phone, just as Higgins moved back to where Magnum was, the man still the same as he had been five minutes ago.</p><p>
  <i>“How’s Thomas?”</i>
</p><p>Higgins crouched down, the gun resting next to her, as she listened to the man mumbling in the same language again. Rick could no doubt hear the mumbling, like a mantra over the phone, and Higgins gently reached out towards Magnum, who jerked away, the mumbling increasing in volume. In response, Rick cursed.</p><p>
  <i>“He’s at the camp. Put me on speaker, Higgy.”</i>
</p><p>She placed the phone on the floor, pressing the speaker button before edging away slowly.  There was a conversation between the two men, hushed and rapid, leaving Higgins completely in the dark over what was said, as Magnum’s trembles began to lessen, his eyes clearing just slightly. Rick switched back to English just as quickly, and for the first time, Higgins saw how much Magnum had gone through, how much he had suffered. </p><p>She knew <i>of</i> it, of course, she wasn’t naive enough to think one could go through what he went through unscathed and unscarred, but she had never <i>seen</i> it. It was a side of him that Magnum kept very close to his chest, and it was never brought up. A not-so-secret secret.</p><p>
  <i>“We’ll be there soon Juliet.”</i>
</p><p>Rick commented as Higgins picked the phone up again, placing it to her ear as she turned off the speaker. She nodded, trying to discretely keep an eye on Magnum without making it obvious that she was watching.</p><p>
  <i>“Keep him talking.”</i>
</p><p>She cleared her throat, before looking at Magnum straight on, looking at his still sick-looking form. </p><p>“Only you could make a cheating wife case turn into money laundering and serial theft.”</p><p>She rolled her eyes, teasing and injected the right amount of teasing in her tone. It was better to treat him as if nothing had happened then ask him if he was alright. Or at least, she hoped that was the right thing to do. Magnum wouldn’t tell her if he was suffering or not. </p><p>His eyes were boring right past her, at the back wall, unfocused and dazed at the same time. His hands, scratched and bloodied, grasped onto the ground, almost as if he was trying to dig a hole in the concrete. </p><p>“What are the chances that you get a simple-sounding case to turn out into some grand conspiracy? What’s next, a simple missing dog turning into an illegal puppy farm?”</p><p>She asked rhetorically, glancing at the entrance as if it would make them arrive quicker. To her dismay, he didn’t display any kind of laugh towards it, no twitch of the lips, no brief snicker. He was just staring into space, focusing on one point to the extent that there would be a hole in it by now. <i>Rick said to keep him speaking but didn’t say how to. </i></p><p>She hoped they would be there soon because Magnum was just getting worse- and she couldn’t apply first aid with him in this condition. What languages could Thomas speak? English wasn’t getting through to him, and as she’d said before, she couldn’t speak a word of Dari or Pashto. She made a note to learn at her earliest convenience. He couldn’t speak German, that much she knew. Italian? Only one way to find out and that was by trying.</p><p>“Stai bene, Thomas?” (Are you okay, Thomas?)</p><p>It seemed to stir a reaction where English had not. He looked up and at her- not through her, but at her- and his eyes stared at her. He blinked, slowly and deliberately, eyes still unsure, wide and dilated heavily. <i>Seems he’s understanding me. Hurry up Rick and TC!</i></p><p>
  <i>“Nuzo? Sei tu?” (Is that you?)</i>
</p><p>She cracked her fingers, frowning a little. <i>I’m going to have to lie to him to apply medical attention.</i> Higgins didn’t feel great about it, but it was better than him not getting any kind of treatment at all. Idly, she wondered what would she would have done had he not assumed she was Nuzo. She didn’t even know Nuzo could speak Italian, but apparently, he could.</p><p>
  <i>“Sì Magnum. Sei stato ferito, quindi devo controllarti.” (Yes Magnum. You were hurt, so I need to check you over.)</i>
</p><p>He stopped pushing himself against the cage, and as he did so, the small pool of blood became ever more visible. His eyes focused on Higgins’ hands as she slowly made her way across the floor. He nodded ever so slightly, and the tension seeped from his body, although she knew that he was still hyper-aware. Her movements were gentle, choreographed, predictable, in a way they had never been previously. </p><p>She peeled up his shirt, revealing sticky, red wounds littering his body, along with previous scars. One was across his chest, not particularly deep, but still bleeding heavily, trickling down his chest like the rain down a window. There wasn’t much she could do for that, without any kind of thread or plaster. She continued scouring his chest for other serious wounds, as Magnum forced himself to remain still, his body frozen despite how relaxed he looked.</p><p>“How bad?”</p><p>He whispered quietly under his breath. For a moment, she thought that he’d snapped out of it, but that was quickly proven false as he scanned the room anxiously, looking for a way out. She pursed her lips, knowing that lying to him wasn’t good, knowing that it would only agitate him further. So she didn’t mince her words, being as blunt as ever. </p><p>“Very. But I’ll patch you up, and you’ll be as good as new.”</p><p>The words were awkward, thick and heavy. The lie came out like molasses, and she hated lying to Magnum. Especially about his close friend who Higgins knew he held guilt towards. Magnum shook so slightly, so it wasn’t obvious, but he let her have access to his wounds. She took off her shirt and tore neat strips out of it, using it to bind his more serious wounds. </p><p>Blood quickly seeped through the makeshift bandages, which she knew wasn’t a good thing. It was surprising that he was even conscious, but considering the man was conscious as he got a bullet wound sealed with gunpowder, it shouldn’t have been that surprising.</p><p>“I should be protecting you, Nuzo.”</p><p>He slurred in incoherence. <i>He still thinks he’s there.</i> She patted him on the shoulder gently, as she drummed fingers into his ribs, but extremely gently. There were definitely three cracked ribs on the right side, and two more on the left. She smiled gently- or what she hoped was gentle- at Magnum- no, Thomas. </p><p>“We all need protecting at some point, Tommy. It just so happens to be you this time.”</p><p>Thomas frowned, the cut under his right eye bleeding even more. His right hand curled around her wrist tightly in an unshakeable grip, as she braced his leg with a makeshift splint. There was a rattling somewhere in the distance, accompanied by a loud bang, which startled Thomas again because he tried to throw Juliet behind him.</p><p>“They won’t hurt you.”</p><p>He swore quietly, seriously, as Juliet was thanking God that she’d had the foresight to move the gun. She got the impression that Thomas would jump for it right about now had it been near. There were the methodical sounds of a sweep being conducted, and Juliet sighed with relief. He didn’t relieve his grip any, so instead of going to meet them, she called out sharply.</p><p>“In here!”<br/>
</p>
<hr/><p>Seeing Thomas on the bed, connected to several machines, was a terrifying sight. Yes, even Juliet Higgins could get scared, and all it took was this single man. The only comfort was the steady thrumming of the heart-rate monitor. Her wrist was still in his vice grip, and she didn’t have the heart to break it. Although she <i>would</i> be getting him to pay for a massage after this.</p><p>TC was sleeping in the chair next to the bed, still wearing the same clothes as the night of the rescue. There were a few sets of flowers and cards on the bed next to him on the left, and Rick was leaning on TC’s shoulders, also asleep. They’d exhausted themselves by staying up for the past four days. Juliet had been asleep the first one due to a mixture of her exhaustion and concussion. She hadn’t slept since, not until she was sure Thomas would awaken. </p><p>There were cricks in her back, and Kumu had been dropping off treats and snacks, knowing that the occupants of the room were unlikely to properly care for themselves as long as Thomas was in the hospital. Even Katsumoto dropped in, under the guise of a follow-up statement- which Juliet gave- and bode themselves well. </p><p>Thomas opened his eyes slowly, focusing on Juliet right away. He moved his free hand, which was connected to various tubes and wires, and wrapped it around Juliet’s other hand, squeezing it. Whatever loose slumber she had been in, she immediately startled out of, looking at him with a wide grin she would forever deny.</p><p>“Juliet?”</p><p>Juliet nodded, smiling at him. Thomas reached up to her face, sweeping a part of her messy hair away. It hadn’t been brushed or even thought about in several days, due to her not seeing the point. As a result, the hair was still matted with blood and dirt, and she was in need of a shower.</p><p>“Finally decided to wake up Thomas?”</p><p>The sound was enough to startle TC and Rick awake, both of which looked hopefully at Thomas, a massive smile growing on their faces. TC quickly excused himself to go and fetch a nurse as Rick quietly excused himself to go and get them all a drink of water. No, they just want to give us privacy. Thomas had a crooked grin on his face as he focused on her, no sight of pain on his face. He nodded, going along with the joking.</p><p>“You know me: I always like a lie-in.”</p><p>Juliet rolled her eyes but relaxed, knowing that a joking Thomas was a healthy Thomas. And she didn’t dwell on when they had become Juliet and Thomas, rather than Higgins and Magnum. He squeezed her hand once, before letting it lie on the bed, itching and scratching at the intravenous lines.</p><p>“Did we get the cheating wife?”<br/>
Juliet rolled her eyes, before tossing him a file that Katsumoto had dropped off a few days prior. The wife in question had been arrested, along with her partner- that is, the person she was cheating with. A paper trail had been uncovered due to their work, and Katsumoto had lead several raids on the properties connected, dismantling the whole operation. He moved towards the files and opened them, scanning them and no doubt committing certain details to memory.</p><p>“We did.”</p><p>“Good.”</p><p>He grinned like the cat that got the canary, relishing in the case well done, but Juliet couldn’t consider it a victory when he got so seriously injured. He’d been the first person that had broken through her hard exterior after Richard, and with ease, and it would destroy her all over again if he were to die. As much as she wanted to lie to herself, she couldn’t. He grimaced as he jostled his wounds, but smiled at her again as if nothing bad had happened. </p><p>They didn’t speak about the PTSD attack, the topic taboo, and while Juliet knew they should, she was just content that he was alright. And from the looks of it, Thomas would recover just fine. And she took great comfort in that. And if she kept an extra eye on the man for the following week, and kept Apollo and Zeus off of his back, then well, she was just looking after Robin’s Nest’s Security Consultant.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>While this is my first fanfiction on this site, I've written a few others on fanfiction.net with the same pen name. Either way, this came after binge-watching the episodes of Magnum, PI available here in the UK, and I had to put pen to paper. I'm hoping to make this a series at some point, between my other stories. I hope you enjoyed this!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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